Making Sense of Local Government

There are a variety of ways that cities provide police and fire protection services to their communities. While many cities have their own departments, it is not uncommon for cities to share these services with neighboring communities through a service contract. Small cities often find such arrangements to be more cost effective and result in better service for residents.

Shorewood provides police and fire protection services in partnership with its neighboring communities using joint powers agreements. Under the state’s Joint Powers Act, such agreements enable cities, counties, school districts, tribes, and many other types of public entities to cooperatively provide services common to them. A governing board, comprised of members of the agreement, oversees the administration and delivery of the service.

South Lake Minnetonka Police Department

The South Lake Minnetonka Police Department (SLMPD) includes the cities of Shorewood, Tonka Bay, Excelsior and Greenwood. The mayors of each city comprise the governing board. The police chief reports to the board and is responsible for both day-to-day and strategic operations of the department. The chief also meets regularly with the city administrators to provide updates and receive feedback from the member cities.

The SLMPD is comprised of eighteen sworn officers, one full-time civilian public safety officer, four part-time community service officers, and two administrative support staff. The 2024 SLMPD budget is $3,550,635 and Shorewood’s share is $1,538,043.

Budgetary costs are distributed among the member cities using a formula that includes population, tax capacity, and incidents. More information about the SLMPD can be found at www.southlakepd.com.

Excelsior Fire District

The Excelsior Fire District (EFD) includes the same member communities as the SLMPD, but also includes the City of Deephaven. Council members from each member city make up the governing board. Like the SLMPD, the fire chief reports to the board and meets regularly with the city administrators. The EFD currently employs four full or part-time staff members and is budgeted for fifty paid-on-call firefighters. The department also uses duty crews, which allow firefighters to schedule time at the station during periods of higher call volumes. Duty crews improve response times, allow paid-on-call firefighters to schedule their time around work and family, and allow training and equipment maintenance to occur more efficiently.

The 2024 EFD budget is $2,054,000 and Shorewood’s share is $746,361. Budgetary costs are distributed among the member cities using a formula that includes population, tax capacity, and parcel numbers. More information about the EFD can be found at www.excelsiorfire.org.